"Enough!" Thomas finally spoke up. He let out a deep sigh and glanced at Darian. On the surface, he looked calm, but there was a subtle trace of irritation in his eyes.

With a surprisingly steady voice, Thomas announced, "First match—victory goes to the New Arcadia Empire!!"

No matter how much anger and resentment the military officers of the Aurora Coalition Empire held back, none of them dared to say a word. The five had taken injuries that could be healed in a few days… but the hit to their confidence and pride was brutal.

Their empire had to focus now on their second group—otherwise, they wouldn't be able to rally even the smallest bit of momentum.

Anyone paying attention could tell Darian had done it all intentionally. The reason was obvious… every single action, word, and expression from those five was filled with mockery and contempt. Now they'd been slapped back with a lesson they'd never forget.

Darian was pissed off over everything that had happened, and yeah, he'd taken it out on them a bit. But he didn't feel bad about it. Honestly, if those idiots had picked the wrong person to disrespect in a different situation, they'd probably be dead already. In a way, he'd done them a favor. It was a solid lesson for their future.

Darian stepped down from the stage and slowly made his way to the prep area. There was an open zone inside the arena where all participants waited for their matches. A big screen hovered in the middle, broadcasting the fights to the entire Earth.

The second he entered, every eye turned to him… a mix of shock and even fear. Darian didn't even glance at anyone. He just walked past coldly, sat in a corner, and closed his eyes.

The rage in his chest hadn't faded one bit. His family had nearly been killed because of him. All he wanted was to let some of that fury out—so now, he was trying to calm down through meditation.

Meanwhile, Niara sat atop his head, keeping a sharp eye on the room and watching everyone like a little guardian. She noticed the stares still locked onto him and snorted proudly, satisfied.

The entire atmosphere of the tournament had shifted—radically. The empire that had been mocked and pitied, teetering on the edge of disgrace, had suddenly become the main focus of the event.

Everyone could already tell—the structure of this year's Newbie Tournament was bound to be completely shaken thanks to the sudden appearance of this monstrous guy.

Thomas carried on with the draw. For the second match, Group 2 from the Aeternum Atlantis Empire would face Group 2 from the Celestial Order Empire.

Aeternum Atlantis ranked fifth, while Celestial Order was fourth.

This one was a dead-even match. In a team battle, flashy individual power wasn't everything—it came down to teamwork and overall coordination. In the end, after a thirty-minute brawl, Celestial Order barely pulled out a win after a hard-fought struggle.

It should've been a showstopper… but the cheers from the stadium were kinda muted. Even if it had been ten times flashier, it couldn't top the chaos from Darian's fight. Everyone was still buzzing and talking about that, not paying much attention to anything else.

Third match: Group 1 of the Solar Federation Empire vs. Group 2 of the Polar Circle Empire.

The #1 ranked empire vs. the #2.

No surprises—Polar Circle got stomped. It wasn't even close. The gap between first place and everyone else was scary. But… what made people sit up and take notice was that the leader of Solar Federation practically soloed the entire enemy team.

It wasn't on Darian's level, not even close, but it got people hyped. Now they really wanted to see the two clash.

One weird thing, though… when Thomas introduced the Solar Federation's leader, he didn't say a last name. It wasn't unheard of—some chose to hide their backgrounds to keep their skills secret. Usually, that was something weaker folks did to protect themselves.

But this guy? He was clearly powerful—arrogant as hell, too. Just the way he looked said it all. Someone like him wouldn't normally want to hide anything. So yeah… people were definitely curious.

Fourth match: Group 1 from the New Arcadia Empire vs. Group 2 from the Aurora Coalition Empire.

As soon as Thomas said "New Arcadia Empire," the whole stadium fell dead silent.

It was like fate had it out for Aurora Coalition. Both their groups had ended up matched against the tournament's rising stars. Now, no one besides the top-ranked empire even wanted to face New Arcadia—even if it was the other group.

Nayara took a deep breath, then cast a quick glance at Darian sitting quietly in the corner. His eyes were still closed. He hadn't moved.

But Niara, sitting on his head, saw her look and gave a little wave with her fingers.

Nayara smiled—couldn't help thinking it was cute—and relaxed a bit.

Their group stepped onto the stage under heavy pressure. This time, it was the complete opposite of before—expectations were sky-high.

But... Nayara was confident. She gave her team mental orders. They'd use a strategy that was meant for later in the tournament. Yeah, they'd be revealing one of their trump cards early… but the momentum Darian gave them made it worth it.

As for the second group from Aurora Coalition—they were sharp-eyed and full of fighting spirit… but also cautious now.

"Begin!"

After Thomas made the announcement, Nayara raised her hand to command. Her entire group moved in perfect sync.

"GET READY!" the other woman—leader of the opposing group—shouted. Her team closed in around her in a tight defensive formation.

She pulled out a small, bluish crystal. The moment it appeared, it shone like a star in the middle of the martial stage.

Everyone in the arena locked eyes on it. That was a supreme artifact—finally, one of the groups had used one for the first time!

Because Earth's empires were limited in the number of supreme artifacts they had—and since there was a massive power gap between the top-ranked ones—one of the tournament's rules was that only one group per empire could have a supreme artifact. That rule was meant to at least give the weaker empires a shot at taking down the big dogs.

No one knew which group or what kind of artifact would be handed out, which made every match tense. No group would reveal their artifact unless their opponent revealed one first.

And it wasn't always the team leader who carried the artifact. In the first fight against Darian, the person who got wrecked early on was actually the one holding theirs.

In the second match, neither group revealed any artifacts—probably because they didn't have one. The third was a stomp by the #1 empire, and those guys definitely didn't have one either.

Now... since the first group from the Aurora Coalition Empire lost without ever using their artifact, the military handed it over to their second group.

Back on the martial stage, the whole space was suddenly bathed in a strange, bluish energy.

"That's the Calamity of Time!" someone shouted from the stands, recognizing the artifact.

This one created a domain where time got warped, affecting both allies and enemies.

Time as a power concept was weird—and often underestimated. That's because it didn't really affect non-living things much, and barely anyone had blessings related to it.

But... at high levels, time could turn even the strongest beings to dust. It could rewind, pause, fast-forward, distort. Living beings were crazy fragile against time—and everything could be broken by it eventually.

Not many people could control it, but supreme artifacts related to time were well-known among the strong—and feared.

Everyone on Nayara's team immediately felt it—their bodies, souls, even their power started freezing. Inside that sealed-off martial stage, the Calamity of Time was a straight-up cheat.

But then...

A bright yellow light, as intense as the sun, suddenly burst into view.

Everyone turned to look—it was coming from a slim woman standing at the center of the New Arcadia group.

Their eyes widened—she was moving normally, completely unaffected, wrapped in a blazing Yang aura. In her hands, she held something small... it took a second for the crowd to realize what it was.

"That little bow!" someone yelled, pointing. "That's a supreme artifact too!"

Shock rippled through the arena. Even supreme artifacts usually couldn't be activated when under the effect of another artifact's power… but she was moving just fine. Which could only mean one thing—that little bow's power was on another level.

She raised the small bow and slowly drew the string.

The solar glow around her spiked dramatically. Everyone had to squint, and even using their ring powers to shield themselves, it was hard to see the stage clearly.

**PENG!**

The sharp crack of the shot rang out like thunder.

*RUMBLE!*

The crowd nearly jumped. The entire domain created by the Calamity of Time… shattered and collapsed.

"HOLY SHIT!"

Someone pointed at the Aurora Coalition group. Their leader… had an arrow sticking out of her chest. She was on her knees, coughing up blood like crazy.

At the same time...

...the other four were laid out all around her, pale and unconscious. A toxic-looking Yang had invaded their bodies, completely wiping out their Yin. If they weren't treated fast, that stuff would kill them in just a few hours.

With a single shot… it was over.

Thomas snapped out of it. "Victory goes to the New Arcadia Empire!"

He quickly called for medics to enter the stage.

Nayara tucked away the Celestial Solar Bow, breathing heavily. If these people knew even that artifact had come from Darian… how would they react?

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